Lesson 12
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*September 15 - 21 |
The Days of the End |
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TRAVEL PLANS. Believing that end-time events pointed to Christ's return in 1988, a preacher planned a tour of the Holy Land to coincide with the Second Advent. The trip could cost "only $1,975 from Los Angeles or $1,805 from New York (and return if necessary)." He later explained in a promotional brochure that "we stay at the Intercontinental Hotel right on the Mount of Olives, where you can get the beautiful view of the Eastern Gate and the Temple Mount. And if this is the year of our Lord's return, as we anticipate, you may even ascend to Glory from within a few feet of His ascension." Needless to say, those who went on the tour used their return tickets.
It's true, signs do portend the end of the world, the last days that precede Christ's second advent. As Seventh-day Adventists, our name itself testifies to our belief in the nearness of His coming. Our identity is intricately tied to that belief.
Yet we need to be careful. Wild speculations, date-setting, sensationalism—all these have crept into our ranks. Somehow, as a people, we need to find the balance between living with our daily routine and expecting the end of the world to come at any moment—something not always easy to do. This week's lesson gives some principles that at least should help.
THE WEEK AT A GLANCE: What are the extremes regarding last-day events that we must avoid? What principles did Jesus leave us regarding how to use prophecy? How are we to understand "the signs of the end"? What should we look for as we see events happening all around us?
MEMORY TEXT: "'But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase'" (Daniel 12:4, NKJV).
*(Please study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath. September 22).
"And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him
in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye
do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts"
(2
Pet. 1:18-20).
Christ is coming soon; the prophetic signs of His return abound. But there is a danger of sensational preaching with regard to last-day events Some people—by attributing apocalyptic significance to every war, assassination, coup d'etat, and popular craze—create a false excitement whose eventual effect is to produce unconcern, especially among those who have been lured into ascribing excessive importance to events that fanatical interpreters have trumpeted, only to have their hopes dashed again and again. Often tied to this doom-crying approach to prophetic interpretation is bitterness and disaffection toward the church when it does not quickly catch the burden of the message and exalt its bearers. Many who use this news-flash approach to interpreting prophecy assertively speculate about coming events not specified in Scripture.
| "The itching desire to originate something new results in strange doctrines, and largely destroys the influence of those who would be a power for good if they held firm the beginning of their confidence in the truth the Lord had given them. "--Selected Messages, book 2, p. 38; see also pp. 13-15. |
The opposite error is to be unconcerned about the signs of the times and refuse to recognize the trends and issues that presage the nearness of Christ's return. As Adventists, we have more reasons than ever to trust the prophetic message given us to present to the world. We must close our ears and hearts to those among us who mock or deny our end-time scenario. In many ways these mockers are like the Pharisees in John 9, who, despite the overwhelming evidence regarding Christ, still refused to believe.
David, a faithful Adventist, started reading the literature of an independent
ministry that set various dates for crucial events to precede Christ's return.
When none of the predicted events happened, David became so disappointed
that he all but discarded his belief in the Second Coming. What can you do
to help a person like him?
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"Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may
believe that I am he"
(John
13:19).
It was Danish quantum physicist Neils Bohr who once wrote: "It is very difficult to make an accurate prediction . . . especially about the future." That's a lesson that Adventists have been slow to learn. For example, if you're reading this Bible Study Guide, then that means you survived the giant asteroid that one independent Adventist ministry had predicted was going to hit the earth in 1994 and kill a few billion people (interestingly enough, that year some asteroids did hit Jupiter: right prediction, wrong planet!). The point is that so often those who speculate about end-time events beyond a few general truths have one thing in common: They are usually wrong.
Read carefully
John
13:19. In this verse Jesus gives a simple principle regarding prophecy.
What does He show us? Is prophecy something given only to enable us
to tell the future? Or is it given so that when the predicted events
take place, our faith in Him can be strengthened? Or is it some of
both? Explain your
answer.
In many ways, prophecy becomes more meaningful after it has been fulfilled, because we can then look back and see how these predicted events came to pass. That will enhance and strengthen faith. Anyone, even those who read palms or tea leaves, can make a prediction about the future; getting that prediction right is another matter entirely.
Read, as much as possible, Daniel 2. The faith-building aspect of that chapter isn't so much the promise of Christ's eternal kingdom, which hasn't come yet; rather, faith is built by looking at the events that already happened, the sequence of great empires (Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome) centuries after Daniel had predicted they would arise,
Of course, the three angels' messages of Revelation 14 deal with prophecies, such as the mark of the beast, and we need to understand what those symbols mean. But speculating much beyond what we have been told is always risky.
Because we do have a prophetic message, how can we protect ourselves from
making erroneous predictions, while at the same time remain true to the prophetic
Word that we have been given?
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What are some signs that point to the nearness of Christ's return?
Dan. 12:4 ________________________________________________________________________
Matt. 24:12 ______________________________________________________________________
Luke 21:9, 10, 11 _________________________________________________________________
Luke 21:25, 26 ___________________________________________________________________
2 Tim. 3:1-5 ______________________________________________________________________
James
5:1-8
________________________________________________________________
These and many other texts indicate that we are living in the end of the world. At the same time, however, those who love God and await His return need to be careful that we don't read too much into every sign, especially using them as markers in order to set dates for Christ's return. Ask yourself, Could not someone living a hundred years ago look at those same texts and apply them to his or her time? "The coming of the Lord is nearer than when we first believed. The great controversy is nearing its end. Every report of calamity by sea or land is a testimony to the fact that the end of all things is at hand. Wars and rumors of wars declare it. Is there a Christian whose pulse does not beat with quickened action as he anticipates the great events opening before us?"—Evangelism, p. 219.
The great struggle for Christians, particularly those who believe in the literal, personal return of Jesus, who will end this world as we know it and inaugurate a whole new existence, is How do we live with the expectation of Christ's second coming while trying to function with the daily routine of life? It's not always an easy balance to maintain.
| A young couple in a rural church were convinced that Christ was coming
soon. After all, didn't Ellen White say so? Thus, they sold all
of their belongings, took their kids out of school, and fled to the mountains
in order to avoid the mark of the beast. Those who tried to talk them
out of their plans were called "Laodicean" or "lukewarm" or "scoffers."
What can we as a church do to help prevent that kind of fanaticism
yet not appear as if we don't believe in the nearness of the Second Coming?
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"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be"
(Matt.
24:37).
The New Testament descriptions of the final days are filled with drama—and terror. People develop strange diseases; rivers and seas turn to blood; humanity faces a "global warming" of searing proportions (Rev.16:8, 9). Nations are angry (11:18) and confused (Luke 21:25), and the world is divided over faith (Rev. 13:9-12). Unusual events take place in the sky, and earthquakes, storms, and disasters become more severe (Luke 21:26; Rev. 6:12-15; 16:18-21). There is the deceptive confusion caused by competing claims to truth (Mark 13:19-23; 2 Thess. 2:8-12) and direct demonic intervention (1 Tim. 4:1). Social unrest and contempt for faith increase (2 Tim. 3:1-5). The people of God suffer greatly from persecution (Rev.13:15-l7).
Though last-day events are truly momentous, read carefully
Matthew
24:37-42 and
Luke
17:28. What view do they give of the end time?
As just before the Flood (Matt. 24:37), people will pursue their normal round of eating and drinking and marrying. As in the days of Lot, there will be buying and selling. Planting and building continues. Most people seem to have no premonition that the end is upon them. Paul announces to the Thessalonians that the terrible destructions associated with the Second Coming itself (see 2 Thess. 1:5-10) will come at a time when people are proclaiming "peace and safety" (1 Thess. 5:2, 3), even amid terrible upheavals.
Thus, to the average person on the street the last days may seem like a time of peace and prosperity. The troubles, disasters, social disruptions, and persecutions of the end time will be on the radar screen but will not seem out of proportion to normal times. Only those who are connected to Christ and understand the teachings of the Word will be able to understand what the times really teach.
| Despite the "normalcy" of the final days, God's people do not need
to be in ignorance regarding the times that we live in
(1
Thess. 5:4-7). How can we live, even now, without falling into
the complacency that will ensnare most of the world? If we are complacent
now, with so many signs around us, what makes us think we'll be any different
at the very
end? |
Many world events that Christians take as signs of the end are really "signs of the age" instead. Rather than point to a specific date for Christ's return, they confirm that His predicted return is secure. They encourage us to believe that if Jesus knew the character of the whole age in advance, He will not be mistaken about the event that closes it.
When the disciples asked Jesus (Matt. 24:3) about the "sign" of His coming and the end of the age, He replied, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come" (vs. 6, NIV; emphasis supplied). Wars and rumors of wars made great signs of the end in the Jewish understanding of final events, but in Matthew 24 they do not herald the end; they are part of what life is like before the end.
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains" (vss. 7, 8, NIV, emphasis supplied). Wars, famines, and earthquakes do not signal the end; they signal the beginning! The disciples asked for a sign of the end; Jesus gave them signs of the age. These "signs" were not intended to stimulate speculation regarding the timing of the end; they were to remind us of Jesus' words, which encourage us to be watchful for the end at all times (vs. 42).
The year was 1960, and something amazing, something unprecedented, had
happened: a Roman Catholic had been elected president of the United States!
For many Adventists this was surely a sign that the end of the world was
absolutely imminent. Of course, that was more than 40 years ago, and we're
still here. What should that tell us about reading too much into specific
events?
Neither the Bible nor Ellen White gives too many details about last days. Both paint their pictures with quite wide brushes. Thus, we need to be careful about going beyond the trends that inspiration has revealed to us. The 1960 American presidential election indicated only a trend, not a specific sign of the end. To speculate beyond what we know is to leave ourselves open to disappointment and mistakes.
| What can we as a church family do to help those who are either complacent
about last-day events or who are too caught up in end-time speculations?
|
FURTHER STUDY: Read
Matthew
24:15;
Revelation
1:3;
Daniel
12:11;
Revelation
19:7-9, and the two chapters
"What Is the
Sanctuary?" and "In
the Holy of Holies" in The Great Controversy, pp. 409-432. Especially
note in your reading the manner in which the Holy Spirit has been guiding
reverent seekers into all truth against the contempt and derision of the
nominal Christian world.
When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely different religious experience, They will be given such glimpses of the open gates of heaven that heart and mind will be impressed with the character that all must develop in order to realize the blessedness which is to be the reward of the pure in heart.
"The Lord will bless all who will seek humbly and meekly to understand that which is revealed in the Revelation. . . .
"One thing will certainly be understood from the study of Revelation—that the connection between God and His people is close and decided."—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 114.
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SUMMARY: The Bible gives paramount
attention to the end times. The "sure word of prophecy" promises us the end
will come and Christ will return. Until then, Christians need to strike the
right balance between living their daily lives and expecting the end of the
world.
Daryl Famisaran
His face bears scars left by stray bullets. As a child he and fellow villagers fled as his mountain village was caught in the crossfire between government troops and communist rebels. When he was 14 he joined the rebel guerrillas.
He quickly mastered the skills to ambush and kill enemy soldiers, and soon Scar Face became a squad leader. He soon lost count of the number of enemy soldiers he had killed by gun, land mines, and jungle traps. Before long Scar Face was on the government's "most wanted" list. The orders were to shoot to kill.
Unable to wipe out the rebels, the government troops pulled back, and the fighting stopped. Scar Face and his men cautiously returned to tending their small farms, always on the alert for a surprise attack.
Scar Face married and started a family. Soon he realized that he needed to find a better way to provide for his family. He surrendered his arms to his commander. The commander offered him a higher rank and better pay, but Scar Face refused. Together with a few others, Scar Face marched down the mountain and surrendered to the authorities in town. The government granted them amnesty, though the townspeople still wanted to see him dead for his murderous past.
Adventists learned that the children of Scar Face's village had no school to attend. A team from Mountain View College went to the village to learn if the villagers wanted a school. With promise of protection and a temporary school building, two student missionaries were appointed to teach in the village. On the first day of school the children crowded into their temporary classroom and sat on the floor. They wrote their lessons on pieces of rough boards. But they are learning.
Scar
Face told the villagers, "These teachers have been sent by the great God
to teach us a better way of life. Let us follow." The villagers love
their new teachers. But people in the nearby towns, especially the soldiers,
wonder what they are doing in that no man's land.
The missionaries know why they are there. They have come to bring the message of salvation and a new life in Christ to people who have never heard.
Daryl Famisaran directs the student missionary program at Mountain View College in southern Philippines.
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